Henning and Mars successfully performed with the top entertainers in Canada and travelled from one end of the country to the other. Henning realized that he needed more theatrical training as well as in the principles of magic. He applied for a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts in the theatre division with a proposal that used the equation that magic plus theatre equals art. Henning was awarded a
Canada Council for the Arts grant for $4,000. After being awarded the grant to study the art of magic for a year, he studied mime under
Adrian Pecknold as well as dance with a Canadian choreographer. He sifted through magic literature in the hopes of developing an all-around magic education in manipulation and illusionism. He visited the
Magic Castle in
Hollywood, California, a private club for magicians. After an impromptu performance in the Wine Cellar, he met resident magician, guru, and fellow Canadian
Dai Vernon, known as the Professor. Since the terms of the grant required Henning to study magic, he got up the nerve later in the year to write the Professor and asked him if he could take lessons with him. Thereafter, Henning travelled to Hollywood to study with Vernon and then with another magic great,
Slydini, whom he came to consider his primary teacher of magic. Intending to return magic to its "glory days", Henning worked to perfect his craft. Garnering financial support, he developed a live theatrical show,
Spellbound, written by
David Cronenberg and directed by Henning's college friend
Ivan Reitman. Henning reworked the show after catching the attention of New York producers and took it to
Broadway as
The Magic Show, with songs composed by
Stephen Schwartz. Debuting in 1974, the show ran for four and a half years and earned Henning a
Tony Award nomination. Following his Broadway success, Henning approached
NBC with the idea of producing a
television special. It was not until Henning suggested that he would reproduce live
Harry Houdini's famous and dangerous water-torture escape—for the first time since Houdini performed it himself—that the NBC executives signed him. Henning spent the next eight months reworking his stage act for TV and practising the water-torture escape act. More than 50 million viewers tuned in for the December 1975 broadcast of ''
Doug Henning's World of Magic'', hosted by
Bill Cosby. In 1977, Henning co-wrote a biography of Houdini,
Houdini: His Legend and His Magic. He created illusions for an
Earth, Wind and Fire tour in 1979, and for two of singer
Michael Jackson's concerts, including his 1984
Victory Tour. In 1983, Henning was the producer and star of the Broadway musical
Merlin.
The World of Magic specials Henning's first
World of Magic special aired on NBC on December 26, 1975. Henning successfully performed the water torture illusion, although he did not break Houdini's time record. Produced by famed talk show host
David Susskind and sponsored by
Mobil, the show ran live in the eastern United States without commercials. The event was the first of seven annual broadcasts, which eventually brought Henning seven
Emmy Award nominations, including two back-to-back in 1976 and 1977 for
World of Magic. In December 1976, ''Doug Henning's World of Magic II'' aired, again live and with only two commercial breaks, on NBC. The theme for this show was "Fire, Water and Air" and it was hosted by actor
Michael Landon, with guest star
Joey Heatherton. The show included Henning vanishing an elephant. A segment of the show featured special guest magician
Ricky Jay. On December 15, 1977, ''Doug Henning's World of Magic III'' aired live with guests
Glen Campbell and
Sandy Duncan; the hyped illusion was "Walking Through a Brick Wall". On December 14, 1978, ''Doug Henning's World of Magic IV'' aired with the theme "A Magical Journey Through Time"; however, due to numerous problems that occurred during the telecast, this was the last special broadcast live. On February 15, 1979, there was a broadcast of the fifth World of Magic special, which was taped at the
Las Vegas Hilton. ''Doug Henning's World of Magic VI'', taped at Osmond Studios in
Orem, Utah, was broadcast February 22, 1980, on NBC. Bill Cosby made his second appearance as special guest.
Marie Osmond also appeared on the program. Several revamped versions of illusions from earlier specials appeared. The finale was an escape and reappearance featuring a huge
Rube Goldberg machine. Henning's last TV special was
World of Magic VII in 1982, which featured guest Bruce Jenner and several revamped versions of illusions from earlier specials. The theme was Henning's magical house, with rooms featuring magic from the past, present and future. In the show's finale, Henning created the illusion of turning a black horse and a white horse into a
zebra. At the end of each
World of Magic performance, Henning addressed the audience with the same monologue: "Anything the mind can conceive is possible. Nothing is impossible. All you have to do is look within, and you can realize your fondest dreams. I would like to wish each one of you all of life's wonders and a joyful age of enlightenment."
Other television appearances On May 20, 1974, Henning appeared as a guest on the game show
To Tell the Truth. He received two of the four votes and then performed
The Metamorphosis trick. On December 13, 1977, Henning appeared as a guest on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. While Henning performed illusions and chatted with host
Johnny Carson and his other guests, he also plugged his new book on Houdini and announced his impending marriage to
Barbara De Angelis. In 1979, Henning appeared on
The Crystal Gayle Special, a variety program starring singer
Crystal Gayle and featuring, along with Henning,
B.B. King and
the Statler Brothers. In 1980, Henning appeared on
The Muppet Show, where he performed several tricks. He demonstrated
chink-a-chink for Scooter, did a flying handkerchief trick for
Kermit the Frog's nephew Robin, segmented a Muppet monster into four pieces (and put him together wrong), and performed The Metamorphosis. In December, Henning appeared on
The Osmond Family Christmas Special, starring the popular brother/sister act
Donny and
Marie Osmond, as a guest with such entertainers as
Peggy Fleming and
Greg Evigan, at the time star of NBC's
B. J. and the Bear. On February 13, 1981, Henning made his seventh appearance on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This show marked the first time that Henning was Carson's first guest. A version of
The Magic Show was mounted in
Toronto at the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The purpose of this show was to film in front of a live audience of several thousand people for broadcast on
CBC Television. Henning came back to the show that had made him a star, and many changes were made for this new production. Most of the cast was changed, including the role of Cal, now performed by
Didi Conn. Some script changes were made (the night club was now known as "Chez Manny" and the older, drunk magician was now named "Van Zyskin"). Some of the songs in the Broadway version were also changed (such as the risqué lyrics of Charmin's lament), or replaced totally, such as the song "Solid Silver Platform Shoes" (the once popular shoe style, by then out of fashion), which was replaced with "It's Gonna Take a Magician". The film version of the production was only aired once on Canadian television, but released on DVD decades later. Henning was featured in television commercials during 1984 to promote the
Plymouth Voyager minivan.
Retirement In the mid-1980s, Henning quit his profession, sold his props, and moved to
India in order to devote his time to
Transcendental Meditation. In 1993, he released a video for the
Natural Law Party of Canada, made up of excerpts from his
World of Magic specials along with newly recorded linking dialogue detailing his philosophy of how the world's problems could be solved by meditation and
yogic flying. ==Transcendental Meditation==